Popular conservative rhetoric (as recently articulated by letter writer Frank Parisi, “Don’t blame Bush,” Voice of the people, March 10) seeks to blame Bill Clinton for everything bad that has happened under the Bush administration and credit Ronald Reagan for anything good that happened under Clinton.
This wishful thinking is intellectual folly and represents a myth perpetuated by the Republican leadership. According to this fairy tale, Reagan inherited a weak economy (obviously the fault of one-term Democratic President Jimmy Carter), stimulated it with tax cuts, then purposely allowed it to crash into recession under the weight of massive deficits, thus setting up a recovery that led to eight years of steady expansion, culminating in an unprecedented economic boom over a decade after he left office. Apparently during this time, Clinton did nothing, and that’s why we are having trouble now.
In truth, it may not be fair to give one man full credit or blame for the complex machinations of a national economy. Nevertheless it is not unreasonable for voters to expect those seeking that position to accept responsibility for what happens on their watch.
To that end, I would like to see President Bush accept responsibility for Sept. 11, a sluggish economy, continuing high unemployment and an unjustified war in Iraq. Blaming your predecessor while hiding behind a veil of secrecy is simply weak leadership.
